JES - CIMB

China-based shipbuilder JES International Holdings, which was listed last December,
yesterday posted a 25.6% rise in first-quarter net profit to 30.1 million yuan (S$5.9
million) from 24 million yuan a year ago as its margin enhancement strategy kicked in.
The profit rise outpaced revenue growth, which increased 17.5% to 203.7 million yuan
from 173.4 million yuan in the previous corresponding period. This was due to the group
increasing production of larger vessels with higher contract prices, JES said. Gross
margin for the period under review also increased to 22.8% compared with 17.4%
previously due to the larger bulk carriers built by JES. Bulk carriers contributed 73.1% of
revenue compared with 57.4% previously. Contribution from containerships fell as the
group kept its focus on building bigger bulk carriers. The group also recorded a net
foreign exchange loss of 10.5 million yuan due to the erosion of contracted revenue in
US dollars because of the appreciation of the yuan. Diluted EPS was 0.0259 yuan, down
from 0.2844 yuan as the share base rose sharply from 84.3 million shares to about 1.16
billion shares. (BT)